The present invention generally relates to a pencil sharpener. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pencil sharpener cap.
Pencils have been used for many years and are widely distributed. Generally, there are two common types of pencils: wooden pencils and mechanical pencils.
Wooden pencils suffer from several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that wooden pencils often become blunt upon use. Another disadvantage of wooden pencils is that the lead breaks easily, during both use and transport. Still another disadvantage is that handling wooden pencils is often messy because the lead is usually exposed and can rub off on clothing, hands, and other items. Furthermore, if the lead breaks, disposing of the broken piece of lead becomes a nuisance. This is even more problematic when using cosmetic pencils because the “lead” is so soft and breaks easily.
One method of overcoming at least some of those disadvantages is to carry several sharpened wooden pencils in order to account for dulling or breaking of the lead. However, carrying several wooden pencils is extremely inconvenient, especially because it is difficult to estimate how many pencils will be needed.
Mechanical pencils, sometimes referred to as propelling pencils, are a partial substitute for wooden pencils. Mechanical pencils eliminate the need to sharpen pencils because the lead is so small in diameter that it never needs sharpening. However, mechanical pencils also suffer from several disadvantages. For example, mechanical pencils are not especially useful to artists in shading their drawings as the smallness of the lead's diameter makes the lead brittle under flexure and the lead tip therefore susceptible to breaking off if too much pressure is applied to the side of the lead.
Another method of overcoming at least some of those disadvantages is to keep a pencil sharpener handy. However, that solution is also problematic for several reasons. First, one must remember to always keep a pencil sharpener handy. Second, it is inconvenient to have to carry both a pencil and a sharpener, especially when space is limited. Furthermore, sharpening a pencil can be messy, especially if the sharpener does not contain a cavity to catch the shavings.
Some manufacturers have introduced pencils with attached sharpeners to try to overcome some of those disadvantages. However, those pencil-attached pencil sharpeners still suffer from disadvantages. For example, some pencil-attached pencil sharpeners do not contain a cavity to catch shavings, which would make sharpening the pencil messy and time consuming. Furthermore, in pencil-attached pencil sharpeners, although the length of the pencil together with the cap becomes shorter as the pencil is sharpened, carrying the pencils when they are new and longer is difficult, especially cosmetic pencils that are typically carried in a purse or other small compartment.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved pencil-attached pencil sharpener. There is also a need for a sharpening device that permits a pencil to be sharpened while the sharpening device retains all or nearly all of the pencil's shavings. There is a further need for a sharpening device where the sharpening device's capacity for retaining pencil shavings is able to increase as the pencil is used up. There is an additional need for a sharpening device where a combined longitudinal length of the device and pencil in an engaged configuration remains approximately constant as the pencil decreases in length due to sharpening. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides other related advantages.